Brazil to offer lease for Santos port container terminal

The Brazilian government is advancing with plans to offer a leasing contract that will result in the expansion of the STS10 container terminal at the country's largest port, Santos in São Paulo state.

The ports and airports ministry (MPor) recommended state logistics firm Infra SA draw up the concession model with amendments to the original model proposed five years ago.

"In the model approved by MPor, in alignment with the presidential chief of staff’s office, there will be four berths (the original project provided for three berths), which will increase container capacity at the country's largest port by 50%. Santos, which currently receives 6mn containers per year, will have the capacity to handle 9mn units," the ministry said in a statement.

The government will now await approval from the audit court and expects to hold the auction in 2025.

"This contract will attract many interested parties. The port of Santos already has its terminals operating almost close to capacity. But in addition to moving forward with leasing the terminal, we also need to have projects to expand land access to the port," the president of private port terminals association ATP, Murillo Barbosa, told BNamericas.

Although the government has not yet released the current capex estimate for the project, according to the federal government partnership program PPI, the original estimated capex was 3.28bn reais (US$585mn) over a 25-year contract.

“It is a project based on much analysis, so that we could find the best solution for the port of Santos and for the country,” ports and airports minister Sílvio Costa Filho said. “We are expanding the import and export capacity of the largest Brazilian port, ensuring improved operations and making our exported products even more competitive.” 

Controversies 

For years, Brazil has been trying to move forward with a concession contract for the expansion and operation of the STS10 terminal. 

Since the administration of Jair Bolsonaro (2019-22), the government has been trying to auction the area amid the increase in demand for container cargo at the port.

However, when President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office at the start of 2023, the government evaluated new models for port contracts, mainly those associated with Santos, and ruled out previous plans to privatize the port’s administrator.

Part of the area where the STS10 terminal is located already has a multipurpose terminal managed by Ecoporto, a unit of Ecorodovias, but that concession contract expires at the end of this year.

The government now plans to hold the STS10 auction and the area is likely to receive a new terminal for cruise ships and containers.

The STS10 project has also been the subject of controversy among port operators. Shipping companies are in favor of the new terminal while companies that own existing terminals are against the plan because they do not want more competition.